Typically, several steps are required to insure that surgeon's gloves are free of bacteria or other microorganisms during surgery. Prior to donning the gloves, the surgeon must scrub his hands thoroughly with a strong bactericidal soap and a brush or sponge in an attempt to eliminate or drastically reduce inimical microorganisms from his hands. Using sterile techniques, he dons surgeon's gloves which have been presterilized in the package. Assuming the steps are strictly adhered to, the surgeon's gloves do not convey bacteria into the wound site. However, after the most rigorously maintained sequence of scrubbing and proper donning, the surgeon's hand quickly becomes covered with bacteria inside of the sterile gloves. The bacteria are present deep in the pores of the skin and cannot be removed by scrubbing. After the hands are scrubbed and gloves are donned, bacteria percolate out of the pores and quickly reinfest the hands. Although these bacteria seldom present any hazard to the surgeon, they can create a hazard to the patient being operated on if the integrity of the glove is compromised. Sometimes the gloves will have a pinhole from time of manufacture, or the gloves are snagged during donning, or the gloves are punctured by an instrument or a bone fragment. Because the hands perspire inside the gloves, a reservoir of bacteria laden liquid is usually present and is easily transferred through any rupture of the rubber film into the wound site. Conversely, infected fluids from the patient can transfer through a damaged glove onto the surgeon's hands.
Strong germicides cannot be residual on the hands when the gloves are donned because they often irritate or sensitize the surgeon's hands.